The Nokia “Tube” Touch Phone (Rumor?)

Okay, so the Boingo thing was more like a non-news item. So to quench your thirst for hot new Nokia phones that closely resemble certain other phones, I present to you: the Nokia “Tube”.

The Nokia “Tube”. Note to Nokia: PLEASE change the name.

So Symbian-Freak has the lowdown on this new handset, designed to steal some market share from the likes of Apple.

For starters, the Nokia Tube is a touch-screen, quad-band cell phone that sports a 16:9 widescreen display. It has a camera, and I quote from Symbian-Freak: “Yes it has a camera, a decent auto focus one that that is way better than the one we can find on the iPhone but still not as good as on the latest Nseries devices!” The touch UI will sport tactile feedback (awesome) but not multi-touch.

But the Tube (not the final name, again according to Symbian-Freak) isn’t actually the big news. It won’t be a flagship device like the N95, or even an Nseries device for that matter – that title will be reserved for the next touch phone to be released. Considering the release date for the Tube will be around first quarter 2009, it’s going to be a loooooooooooong wait for Nokia’s first touch-screen handset.

Anyway, the bottom line that I see here is the Tube looks like a cheap knock-off of several other products out there. At first glance, I thought it was one of those CECT fakie “Nokla” phones currently plaguing the entire free world. Nokia has its work cut out for them, that’s for sure. Maybe they should’ve teamed up with Gucci?

I think Gizmodo summed it up best in its post: “Too bad. And maybe too late.”